Memories of Cornstarch
by Quicksilver19
Summary: Rory and Dean broke up and now she's with Jess... what if she starts missing her knight in shining armour?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Okay, well, this takes place in the second season when Rory and Dean break up and she goes out with Jess… It goes AU after that… Enjoy… :) 

            Rory glanced over at Jess. He was sitting in his usual position, slumped on the couch, as they watched a movie, his arm slung casually over her shoulders. It made her think of Dean suddenly, a guy who would sit with a pretty straight posture, intent on the movie yet always his fingers playing with her own, letting her know that he was always thinking of her. 

            Jess looked over to her, as if sensing her betraying thoughts. He grinned, that sly smirk, and leaned over to kiss her. 

            She allowed it to go on for a few minutes, pulling away gently as his hands started to wander and smiled cautiously at him. She couldn't do this. Not tonight. Not while thinking of Dean. "Sorry Jess…" 

            "S'okay," he replied, his smile forced. He sounded so frustrated she almost kicked him. 

Dean would never have been a jerk about this… wait, stop. She had to stop thinking of Dean. He was gone. They'd broken up and she'd made sure that they could never get back together again… 'Good job stupid,' a little voice inside her head said suddenly. She frowned. What was a little voice inside her head doing telling her that she was an idiot for breaking up with Dean? 

"What's wrong now?" Jess asked, breaking into her thoughts, wearing a matching frown on his handsome features. 

She shook her head to rid it of any thoughts of Dean. "Nothing. Why? Does it look like there's something wrong with me? Should there be something wrong with me? Because there isn't. Is something wrong with you?" God, she was babbling again. 'Stop, stop!' her brain yelled frantically. 

"No," he replied shortly, looking at her funnily. 

Silence for a bit as they went back to the movie. She snuggled into his shoulder. Then, 

"Are you sure?" 

She sat up. "Are you serious?" 

He looked down at her. "Do I look serious?" 

"Yes."

"Because I am."

"Okay." 

He narrowed his eyes at her. "There is something wrong." 

She narrowed her eyes back. "No there isn't. How would you know?" 

"I just know." 

"How?"

He stood up, throwing his hands in the air. "Because you're my girlfriend! I think I would know when there's something wrong with my girlfriend." 

"Well, there's not!" 

"Fine."  

"Fine." 

"Fine." He sat back down and they tried to get back into the movie. Five minutes later, he stood up again and faced her. "No, it's not fine. I know something's bugging you, Rory, and I want to know what it is!" 

She stood up. "There's nothing wrong and if you are going to continue like this, I'm going home!" 

"Fine!" 

"Fine!" She grabbed her jacket and ran out. 

It took her until the gazebo to realize that he wasn't coming after her. Throwing herself onto a bench, she sobbed. It wasn't right. He shouldn't treat her like this, make her feel like this. Dean would never have treated her like this. "Oh, shut up," she told herself savagely. "He's not coming back." 

"Who's not coming back?" 

She stifled a scream and looked up, expecting Jess. "Dean…" 

He noted the hope in her voice then dismissed it as surprise. "I was out walking and saw you bolt past so I decided to follow you. Are you okay?" He longed to sit down on the bench beside her and gather her into his arms, to tell her that everything would be okay. But it wasn't his job anymore. He wasn't her boyfriend anymore. Instead, he stood in front of her, his hands tucked in his pockets. 

She sniffed, wiping her eyes self consciously. "I'm fine." 

"Yeah, you really look it," he scoffed. 

She glared up at him. "Thank you very much." 

He shrugged. "It's true." 

'There. Another one of his qualities,' she thought. Honesty. "It's nothing," she said finally. 

He sighed and sat down on the bench beside her. "Sure looked like nothing when you bolted from Jess' place," he said dryly. 

She shrugged. "Couples fight." 

He flinched and she cringed inside. "We never fought like this," he said finally. 

"That's because we were…" she trailed off. 

"Were what?" 

She looked at him, gauging his reaction. "Specia- uh, different." 

He nodded, looking at the ground. "Yeah, we were…" He sounded heartbroken that Rory wanted to throw herself off a cliff for what she'd done to him. 

"Listen Dean… I'm sor-"

He stood up abruptly. "I have to go," he said, cutting her off, and stalked away. 

She watched him until he was out of sight then buried her face in her hands. "Oh Dean…" 


	2. Chapter 2

"My life is over." Rory banged her head against the table. It was three o'clock the next day and the first time she'd come out of her room. She'd spent to morning wallowing and going through the 'Dean box.'

Loralei rubbed her hand up and down Rory's back. "No, honey, it's not…" 

"I messed up with Dean and then last night Jess was all snarky and then I ran out and then I ran into Dean and he was all nice to me but then I was all snarky at him and it was bad… and I've ruined everything." 

Loralei put her arms around her daughter and hugged her tightly. "You haven't ruined anything. Dean just needs time to deal with these things… he loves you, hon, and believe it or not, he will forgive you…" 

Rory sniffed, brushing tears off her face. "Why would he?"

Loralei leaned her head against Rory's and kissed her head, smoothing her hair back. "Because he loves you." She held on for a few more minutes before letting go and grabbing her jacket. "Alright. Let's get out of this funk. Let's go to Luke's, grab a coffee, ignore Jess, and go grocery shopping." 

Rory nodded, sniffing. "Okay, just let me get ready." 

Loralei watched her go to her room and sighed. She hated seeing Rory sad. She was reminding Loralei of herself more and more. Dumping Dean for Jess was a totally Loralei thing to do. But realizing that she'd screwed up with Dean and wanting him back was a totally Christopher thing to do. At least she'd realized it before it was too late. She sipped her coffee. 

"Okay, ready to go." 

Loralei jumped, almost spilling the remains of her coffee all over herself. "Dear god, child! What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack so you can inherit all my fantastic outfits and makeup?" She looked up. Rory was fresh-faced and dressed to go out and brave the fall weather complete with hat and mittens. "Alright. Let's go." 

They left the house, locking it, and walked towards Luke's, waving at Ms. Patty. 

"I hear you're having man troubles, Rory?" she said, in her usual nosy voice. "Two men fighting for your heart?" 

"Well, we were hoping for an even dozen but the rest had the week off," Loralei replied loftily. 

"Well, I know for a fact that your young man has been checking out the window every few minutes for you ever since he started work this morning…" she said pointedly. 

Rory turned and looked at the empty windows at Luke's then as a movement caught her eye, she saw Dean's face disappearing from the Market's window. Minutes later, he came out with a jacket overtop of his apron, his hands deep in his pockets, a serious look on his face. 

¥                                              ¥                                              ¥

Jess frowned. Rory had been avoiding him today. Usually they got over these stupid little fights in no time. Usually she called to apologize. She should have called this morning. The whole thing _was _her fault, after all. Maybe he should have gone after her last night. He shrugged. No big deal. She'd come around eventually. He went downstairs to see Luke. He actually hated it here and the only reason why he even liked it at all was Rory. She was the only good thing here worth his time. 

Luke wasn't down in the diner, and the closed sign was still on the door. 

Unlocking it, he flipped the sign to open then happened to glance out the window and stiffened. Wait. What the hell was she doing talking to _him_? He shook his head and blinking, thinking he was imagining it. Nope. There they were… Stars Hollow's favourite couple, Rory and Dean, sitting on a bench together, talking. 

He moved back behind the counter as he watched Loralei start towards the diner. He pretended to clean the countertop in an effort to look casual and nonchalant, as if he didn't notice the two of them. Except he couldn't not look at them.  

She came in and leaned on the counter. "Two coffees to go please."

He got her two coffees without taking his eyes off the two teenagers. 

She followed his gaze and smiled quickly before taking a sip of her coffee. 

"This was your doing, wasn't it?" Jess accused. 

Loralei shook her head, leaning across the counter to look him in the eye. "Actually, it was yours." 

"What?" he asked. 

She calmly took another sip of coffee. "Last night." 

He also leaned forward, anger written on his face. "What about it?"

"You fought."

"So?"

"She ran."

"Yeah."

"And you didn't follow."

"So?" 

"But her knight in shining armour did." They were inches apart. She grinned, enjoying the frustrated/confused look on his face. 

Jess frowned. "Who?" 

Loralei sighed. The kid just didn't learn. To keep something you had to be nice to it. She sat back and said, waiting for the reaction, "Dean." 

He almost choked on the word. "Dean?"

"Dean followed her." 

"I thought he hated her." 

"Well, he doesn't." 

"Well, he should." 

"Well, he _doesn't_. End of story. And now you've thrown her right back at him and given him just the reason to get back into her life." She stood up. "Have a good day, Jess. And thanks for the coffee." She pulled out two dollars and plunked them on the table counter before leaving the diner. 

He watched as she sauntered off down the street, waving to Ms. Patty who was leaning out of the dance studio to watch Dean and Rory, straining to catch their conversation.

¥                                              ¥                                              ¥

"So," Rory said, kicking at leaves on the ground. 

"So," Dean replied. 

They stood awkwardly together before Dean broke the silence, 

"You want to sit down?" 

"Yes," she replied, relieved to be able to do something to distract her. 

He clenched his jaw a few times before actually being able to talk. "So I talked to my sister this morning and she told me to get over myself, swallow my pride and act like a true friend because you were hurting and I was a jerk last night." 

She shook her head. "No, Dean. It was totally deserved. I've been a jerk to you and you didn't deserve it because you were the best boyfriend a girl could ever have, especially as a first boyfriend." She gulped back tears. "And I'm really sorry. Very sorry. Completely and truly sorry. There aren't enough sorries in the world for how sorry I am. Even if I say I'm sorry for the rest of eternity it still wouldn't be enough sorries for how sorry I am." 

He smiled. That was the Rory he missed. "But we were friends before we started dating. And I threw that out the window because you started liking another guy. Which completely justifies me freaking out on you but I know that I have to let go and get over it. Especially if I want you as a friend." 

She nodded. "And I want you as a friend. And I'm breaking up with Jess." 

He wanted to jump for joy. He wanted to run around the streets cheering. A parade wouldn't justify the joy he felt right now. "Well, that's a good decision if you aren't happy with him." 

"It is," she agreed. "But it isn't just because I'm not happy with him." 

"It isn't.?" He felt like he did at their first meeting. Anxious and afraid of what she was going to say. He moved towards her. 

"Yeah-" She moved towards him and their faces came closer and closer together. 

They were interrupted as Taylor came out. "Mr. Forrester I am not paying you to come out here and socialize with girls. I am paying you to stock shelves and the shelves inside are not stocked!" he bellowed. 

"Alright I'm coming." Standing up, he turned back to Rory. "Continue this tonight?" 

She nodded. "I'll come by the market when you're done work." 

            He nodded back, moving towards the market. At the door, he looked back. She was watching him and as their eyes met, she smiled. He couldn't help but smile back. He went inside and started to restock the shelves under the angry glares of Taylor. But even that couldn't faze him. Rory was breaking up with Jess…


	3. Chapter 3

Jess watched Rory leave the square and start towards home, not even looking over at the diner, a smile on her face. She'd gone to visit the bagboy and not him, he fumed, his face turning cold. He pushed his way out of the diner and walked into the market. "Bet you're feeling pretty good right now, huh?" he lashed out, wanting to hurt Dean as much as Rory hurt him by turning her back on him, turning instead to Dean. Dean didn't even turn around. He continued stacking cereal boxes onto the shelf. 

            "What did she say to you?"       

            Dean paused, relishing in the jealousy that came off Jess in waves, then put the box down on the shelf and turned around. "Doesn't feel so good being on the other side, does it?" He smirked, not unlike the trademark Jess smirk from when the roles were reversed. "Little uncomfortable having another guy comforting your girlfriend while she refuses to talk to you, isn't it?" 

Jess lunged but Dean was ready for him and being bigger, grabbed him by his jacket and pulled him forward so that they were almost nose to nose. "Looks like someone's a bit jealous, Jess… Now shove off, I'm working." He shoved Jess away then turned his back, going back to stacking cereal. 

Jess clenched his jaw. It was as if he were in another universe. Dean wasn't supposed to be gloating, Rory wasn't supposed to go back to him, and Jess wasn't supposed to be losing his cool in front of people, acting like a jealous psycho boyfriend. And he didn't even have a snappy comeback… He glared at Taylor, who was watching him with intense distaste and intense curiosity. He shoved out the door, tramping back to Luke's. Great. Now the whole town was going to know that he'd freaked on "the good boy" over Rory. Now, everyone was going to think that Rory was breaking up with him to get back with Dean. Which she wasn't… they were just having a rough time in their relationship… it happened to everyone, didn't it? 

            "Where the hell were you?" Luke snapped as he entered. "You know usually it's the customers that are outside while the people working are inside. What were you doing at Taylor's? Shopping?" 

            Jess pushed past him. "Leave me alone." He stomped upstairs. 

            Rory entered her house, calling, "Mom?" 

            "In the kitchen!"

            She went in; taking her coffee from her mom's outstretched hand. "Thanks." 

            "No prob. What happened?" 

            "The Queen of Tact," Rory commented dryly. 

            "I don't have time for tact. I'm going back over to the Inn to take care of some stuff… quick, quick, Coles' Notes…" 

            "I'm meeting Dean after work to talk." 

            Loralei squealed. "Oh, honey!" 

            "Yeah." Rory sat down in a chair with a thump. "But what am I going to say to him? Oh, god, Jess! What am I going to do with Jess?" 

            "I can hit him with the car on my way to work for you. No fuss, no muss." She sipped her coffee, eyes twinkling. 

            "Mom!" 

            "Sorry. Bad plan…"

            "No, I have to break up with him." 

            "Good."

            "No, wait, I can't break up with him!"

            Loralei frowned. "Why not?"

            "What if Dean hates me?"

            "Honey…"

            "What if he never wants to see me again?"

            "Hun…"

            "What if he has a new girlfriend?"

            "Ror…"

            "Oh god!"

            "Rory… remember Mission Impossible 2? What that creepy guy says about women and monkeys… you're bordering on that…kinda freaky…" Loralei gathered her daughter into her arms. "I know… it's so hard for you. Two cute boys fighting over you… it's tough…" 

            "Mom!" Rory squirmed. 

            "Sorry. Okay. Being serious now. Go. Talk to Dean. Figure out what he watns. Don't talk to Jess now… let him stew for awhile. If he doesn't realize that he's done something wrong then he doesn't deserve to talk to you…"

            "What kind of advice is that?" 

            Loralei moved Rory over then stood up. "The only kind I got right now…" She kissed Rory on the forehead. "Gotta go to work. Bye hon. Make good choices!" she called, leaving the house. 

            "Thanks mom," Rory grumbled. She gathered the dishes from the table and put them in the sink. What was she going to do until Dean got off work? She was too wired to do homework or watch TV or read a book, too much of a chicken to go back into town to see anyone or go to Luke's or talk to Jess. She picked up the phone and dialed Lane's number. 

            "Are you crazy?" Lane yelled as she entered the house. "I mean, no, wait, you've finally come back to your senses… which you left behind in Deanland a long time ago… Jess is a jerk-"

            "He's not a jerk, Lane," Rory cut in tiredly. 

            "-and Dean is perfect-"

            "He's not perfect, Lane."

            "-and I'm glad you've finally come to your senses." 

            "Lane." 

            She stopped to take a breath. "You're right. He's not perfect… he's practically Prince Charming! Rory, are you crazy? He's been in love with you since he came to Stars Hollow, he's done a million, billion, trillion things for you, and has always been there for you!" She sighed. "He was your first kiss, your first boyfriend, your first 'I love you.' What was Jess? Your first affair? Your first guilt trip? Your first relationship ruiner?" She say Rory's face and threw up her hands. "I'm sorry but Dean is just so good for you and Jess is so not. Well, he's not bad like evil mad scientist… but you were just happier when you were with Dean. I mean, Jess is all about the danger and the excitement and you're happy when you're with him but Dean was the comfy sort of happy and you seemed to stay happier longer…" 

            Rory stared at her blankly. 

            "Okay, new example. Dean's the marrying type. He's the husband type. The settle-down-white-picket-fence-2.3-kids-and-a-collie-type. Jess is the bachelor-one-night-stand-who-you-met-in-Hawaii-on-vacation-never-to-see-each-other-again type. Which would you prefer? Personally, I'd love the first…" 

            Rory frowned. "But it's not black and white like that, Lane. You can't pro and con list them." 

            "Well, then what are you going to do?" 

            "I don't know." 

            "Well, you could talk to me for a start…" 

            Both Rory and Lane jumped and turned around. 

Dean stood in the doorway. "I knocked but no one answered." 


	4. Chapter 4

Note: Sorry this one seems a little forced and butchered… I kind of have writer's blocked… I need to watch more Gilmore Girls and I can't wait until Wednesday! Anyway, let me know what you think, suggestions on where to go with this are appreciated… thanks to everyone who reviewed too! Let me know what you think! 

Rory froze, Lane shrieked and Dean jumped. 

Dean stood in the doorway. "Sorry, I knocked but no one answered so I just came in… old habit, I guess…" he trailed off. "Sorry," he said again.

They stood in an awkward silence until Lane piped up in a high, tense voice, 

"Well, I have to get home. My mom needs me for… something…" She inched past Dean, mouthing, 'I'm sorry,' to Rory behind his back. 

Rory shot her a look then focused back on Dean. "Hi. I thought you were working…" 

"I got off early so I came over…" 

She looked down at her feet. "So, I guess you heard that conversation, huh?"

He nodded, also very interested in his shoes. "Yeah, some…" 

She glanced quickly at him then away. "The pros and cons list?"

"Yeah." 

"The white picket fence theory?" 

"Yeah." 

"So, pretty much the whole thing?"

He locked eyes with her. "Yeah, pretty much…" 

They both laughed and the awkwardness subsided a little. 

"You want to sit?" Rory offered, dropping onto the couch. 

"Sure." 

She could feel the tension in the room but didn't know what to do to dissipate it. "So…" 

He looked over at her. "So…" 

"So, um… yeah…" She stopped, not really knowing where to go with it… 

"So, you want to finish your conversation from this morning?" 

She stared at him, afraid of where this would go. "Well, uh…I don't know where to start…" 

"How about the part where you almost kissed me?" 

She cleared her throat. "Right to the point… okay…good… well, I, uh, was upset about Jess and you were such a good boyfriend." 

"Great… I'm a good boyfriend…" 

She stopped. "Well, don't be so mad. It's just… I just… I don't know… I do like you Dean. I can't deal with you and then Jess and he was just easier to deal with at the moment." 

"Well, at least I have some depth." 

"Look," she grabbed his hand. "It's not you, it's me and I know that sounds cheesy but I was mixed up and you were all jealous and crazy and I couldn't deal with it but now it's all bad because Jess doesn't have any emotions at all and I think I would rather have the whole emotions versus no emotions but I just feel bad about Jess because he has the whole abandonment complex that's not good and it's edgy and crazy but I just don't want to get too attached to him or have him get too attached to me which isn't a real problem I don't think… but I don't want to lead him on… but I don't know what to do!" She turned away. 

Dean looked at her back, confused. "So what are you trying to say?" 

"I don't know. I'm confused. I wish that I could just take back so many things…redo so many things…" 

She looked so distraught that he took her arm. "I'm sorry Rory." 

She turned back. "What? See, you're good! You're so good! Why are you so good?!" 

He blinked, his hands dropping uselessly to his side. "What?" 

She sighed. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who messed up. I cheated on you, remember? I'm the one who dumped you for Jess. I'm the horrible one!" 

He raised his hands to comfort her but had no idea how so they floated between the two before dropping back into his lap. "Rory… it's okay." She gave him a look. "No, really. This might just be me but you're not happy with Jess. So, the reasonable answer to that is to break up with him. Which is definitely fine with me…" He saw the look on her face and hurried on, "No, seriously… If I can't be there for you as a boyfriend, at least let me be there for you as a friend." 

₤                                              ₤                                              ₤

Loralei walked into the inn's construction area, waving at Tom and almost running into Sookie. 

Sookie's face lit up. "So, I hear Dean and Rory are getting back together…"

Loralei nodded, distracted as she flipped through some mail then stopped and looked suspiciously up. "Where did you hear that?"

Sookie smiled her good-natured, innocent smile. "I have my sources. So, spill..." 

Loralei dropped the mail onto a table and pulled Sookie over to the window. "So, Rory comes out of her room this morning, her eyes teary-filled and sniffing and I knew there was something wrong because well, I'm her best friend/mother, y'know? I know these things…and I knew that it wasn't over with Dean…" 

"Yeah," Sookie replied excitedly. 

"So, yeah, she starts in on this whole spiel on Dean and how Jess is so horrible except she doesn't actually say that Jess is horrible because it's Rory we're talking about and she is waaaay too nice for her own good…"

"She's an angel…" Sookie added. 

"So, anyway, she says that she wants to break up with Jess and go out with Dean, at which point I want to do the happy dance, actually I want the whole town to do the happy dance because Dean is a million times better than Jess… except she gets all weirded out and thinks that Dean's moved on, which he totally hasn't and gets all insecure about Jess… to the point where I wanted to pound some sense into her… but that's not the point… the point is that she's going to talk to Dean tonight and hasn't been in contact with Jess since she ran out of his place and he's too block-headed to realize that he's losing her and won't call her…" She stopped, taking a deep breath. "Whoo… hard thing, keeping up with my daughter's busy romantic life…" 

Sookie giggled. "I always liked Dean better too…" 

"Yeah, me too… so now I have to putter around here for a few hours while they reconcile and get back together and get married… wait… nevermind." 

"Well, I'm glad that they're talking again…" 

"Me too…" 

₤                                              ₤                                              ₤

"So, friends then." 

Dean looked sideways at Rory. "For now. I won't give up on you, Loralei Gilmore."

A feeling inside her flared up, one that didn't happen when she was around Jess. Dean just made her feel like she was special, something that Jess lacked… kind of like a knight in shining armour complex or something. "Okay." 

They shook on it then he leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek.


	5. Chapter 5

Rory took a deep breath and pushed open the door to Luke's. It was the next day, Sunday, so she knew Jess was working. She almost panicked and ran but Jess spotted her and waved. She went and sat at a table, willing Luke to come out and either yell at Jess or come serve Rory himself. 

There was no God. 

Jess sidled up and went to kiss her but she turned her head at the last moment and his kiss landed on her cheek. 

He frowned then shook his head. The rumours meant nothing. Rory was still his girlfriend. She wouldn't cheat on him. 

A little voice piped up inside him, 'She cheated on Dean and he's the good guy…' 

Jess waved it away and smiled at Rory, handing her a menu, as pointless as it was to her. "Can I get you something?"

"Coffee please." She looked out the window as Jess went back to the kitchen to get her coffee. She wanted to break up with jess, willed herself to do it but the look on his face when she'd turned away and the missed kiss threw her. He was waiting for her to disappoint him so he could blame it on her. 

He came back and she thanked him. "How's life?"

"Good. You?" He was confused. This was so general and Rory was usually a little more interested…

"Fine." 

"Good." He turned away but she called him back.

"Thank you." Was he going to bring up that night?

"No problem." Was she ever going to explain why she ran away?

"Jess-" She started.

"Rory-" he said at the same time.

"You first," she said.

"No, you." 

"Age before beauty."

He smiled wryly. "Ladies first." 

"Well, thanks…"

"Just trying to be the chivalrous knight for you." 

She jumped, rattling the mug, coffee almost sloshing out. 

"What?" he asked, partly annoyed and partly confused. 

By now the diner was listening. 

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You don't look fine."

"But I am."

"Fine."

"Fine."

They stared at each other until Rory felt she was going to cry. 

"Jess, this isn't working."

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

"I do."

"Jess, don't."

"It's Dean."

"No."

"I talked to your mom."

"You hate my mom."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do. And she hates you. You'd never talk."

"She hates me?"

"She does."

"Well, I don't hate her."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I…" He held up his hands. "That's not the point, Rory. She talked to me. Whether or not she liked me."

"About what?"

"You… Dean… two nights ago. Remember it?" He glared at her. 

She blanched. "I didn't plan on being driven out of your house and running into him."

"Oh, so now it's my fault?!" 

Everyone turned to stare at the couple. 

"Jess, everyone is staring."

"Mind your own business!" he bellowed at them, grabbing Rory by the arm and dragging her upstairs. 

"Is this your way of breaking up with me?" 

She looked at him, wide-eyed. "I don't know," she said finally. 

"Well, maybe we should break up if you love him so much," he snapped. 

"Jess, I-"

"No. If you want to be with your bagboy boyfriend then go right ahead. I have better things to do than waste my time with you." 

She recoiled, stung. 

He turned away. "I'm sorry Rory. I just need time to think."

She reached out to him but he flinched away. 

"Seriously, leave me alone."

Rory left, feeling confused. She hadn't done anything. It wasn't as if she'd cheated on him with Dean. It wasn't as if she'd chosen Dean over him… She stopped on the stairs. Or had she? She never told Jess that she'd chosen him over Dean. She turned and ran up the stairs, knocking on the door. "Jess! Jess!"

"Leave me alone!" 

"But Jess, I-" She was cut off by music blaring. 

She pounded on the door for a few more minutes before giving up and going home. 


	6. Chapter 6

Loralei walked into Luke's to an insistent buzzing of activity. Luke was at the counter, red-faced and very stormy looking, Taylor and Miss Patty sitting in a corner, discussing something intensely.  She went to the counter and sat in a seat, straining to hear the latest. 

"What do you want?" Luke growled. 

"Coffee?" she asked. Something was up. What was it?

He poured a cup and plunked the coffee down on the counter. 

"What's going on, Luke?"

He glared at her. "I went over to Taylor's to get some cream and I came back to an empty place."

"No. Where'd he go?" 

"Well, after I searched the whole place twice, I got a call from his mom."

"No."

"Yes," he growled. "Turns out the little punk skipped out to go to California to go live with him." 

"No."

"Yes!" he said, exasperated. "Stop saying in that tone of voice!" 

She grinned. "Why? It's funny when it makes you angry. But seriously, do you think he's coming back?"

He shook his head. "I don't know." 

"Oh. So this is serious?"

"Yes. He's gone."

"As in not coming back?"

"Yes." 

"As in 'I'm outta here and I'm not even going to tell Rory, the love of my life, that I'm leaving…'?"

"Yes." 

She gave him a look. "Who's repeating himself now?"

He threw up his hands. "This is serious!" 

She sighed. "Fine. Fine. What do you care though. I thought you were sick of him. I thought you would be glad to be rid of him?" 

He cleared his throat. "Well, yeah." 

"What? You actually care about Jess?" She yelled. 

Everyone in the diner looked up. Taylor and Miss Patty perked up. 

"Shhh…" He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the door. "No, it's a relief. That kid was driving me crazy. Let him make his own way from now on. Let him see how far that smart mouth of his gets him without someone watching his back. I couldn't be more relieved. Now, before you embarrass me anymore, go home." 

"Wha-" she squawked before she was shoved from the diner. 

¤                                              ¤                                              ¤

As she entered the house, she spotted Rory lying on the couch, the phone clutched in her hands, staring at it numbly. "Honey, what's wrong?" She motioned for Rory to sit up then sat down in the vacant area. 

"Jess won't answer my calls…" 

Loralei bit her lip. "Ror, I have something to tell you…" 

"About Jess?"

Nod. 

"Bad?"

"Pretty bad…" 

"Did he kill someone and have to skip town?" She closed her eyes.

"You got it half right…" 

Rory's eyes snapped open. "What?"

"He left, hun… He's gone to California. I'm so sorry." 

Rory stared at the wall, not knowing what to feel. On one hand, Jess was Jess, mischievous, goofy sometimes, dangerous, sexy – the bad boy… even though he was rough sometimes, the others, he was sweet… like when they talked about books… On the other hand, it made life a lot easier. Now she could be with Dean and no one would blame her. It wouldn't be a scandal this time around. 

"Rory?"

She looked up at her mom with tears in her eyes. 

Loralei's heart broke. "I'm so sorry, hun…" She gathered her only child up in her arms and rocked her soothingly. 

¤                                              ¤                                              ¤

The next morning Rory refused to get out of bed. 

"If you don't go to school, you're going to lose the perfect attendance scholarship," threatened Loralei. 

"There is no perfect attendance scholarship!" yelled Rory from under the covers. 

"Well, there should be to get people like you out of bed…" 

"I don't want to go. Go away." 

Loralei sighed. "You can't let something like him affect your day… I mean, then he's winning… and you can't let him win…" 

"I don't care. Just let me wallow… you let me wallow when I broke up with Dean…" 

"Dean is special. It's different. Jess isn't special. Jess is a slimeball…" 

The covers heaved up and Rory appeared, her hair tousled. "Jess is not a slimeball, mom. Just because he took off and didn't tell me or anything doesn't make him a slimeball. He is a nice guy…"

"Yeah, when?"

"When he's around me." She fell back on the bed, throwing the covers over her head again. 

Loralei sighed again, moving to the door. "Fine. Stay here. But I'm leaving you a list of things to do…" 

"Fine. Shut my door please." 

¤                                              ¤                                              ¤

She wallowed in bed for half the morning, finally getting up and wandering out into the kitchen for coffee. A note was waiting for her, 

Rory, 

Can you please please please do these things for me? Thanks. 

Mom

She glanced at the list. A ton of groceries. Enough to feed the Red Army for a week… She sighed. It wasn't that she was overly depressed about Jess, it was just that she didn't want to face people, especially people her age, at the moment. 

She sighed.

Note: I know, I know… it was a weak way of getting rid of Jess… well, he was just bugging me so he got banished to the west… do you think I should bring him back or what?


	7. Chapter 7

She stepped into the market, glancing at the list again. So many things to get. She went through the aisles, picking up groceries. 

"No school today?" Taylor called from the front. 

Rory glanced over to Luke's diner. "Not for me." 

"Why not?" 

"Well, I just don't…"

"School holiday?" he pressed. 

"Nope." 

"Memorial?"

"Nope." 

"Mandatory Teacher's Day?"

"Nope." 

"Well, what is it?" he asked, exasperated. 

"A 'Rory needs some coffee filters' day?" she said, slipping quickly behind a rack of bagels to avoid his stare. She got all that she needed and brought it up to the cashier. 

"Would you like a box?"

She shook her head, paid, gathered the bags, and left under Taylor's accusing glare. 

She got halfway across the square and a few bags slipped from her fingers, forcing her to drop all the bags. Suddenly she wished that she'd taken Taylor up on his offer of a box. "Oh for the love of-" she said, dropping to her hands and knees to pick up the scattered groceries. She leaned after a can of fruit salad, which rolled and stopped next to a large, male looking, sneakered foot. She jumped then looked up. A split-second flashback of Dean standing in front of her – a floppy-haired, lanky guy, on the last day at Stars Hollow High. 

"Here, let me help you with that…" A box appeared from behind his back and he gathered her groceries into it. Without asking, he picked up the box and they started off towards the Gilmore house. 

"No school today?" he asked finally. 

"I was about to ask you the same thing," she shot back. 

Silence for a bit. They walked. Then, 

"I skipped," he said quietly. 

"Me too…" 

Pause, then, 

"I skipped handing in a paper." 

"I skipped a test…" 

Pause. 

"You didn't finish it?" he asked, smiling faintly. 

"You didn't study?" she replied. 

Pause. 

She sighed. "I skipped because of Jess." 

He kept his gaze steady and level, watching as they approached her house. "I skipped because of you." 

She looked up. "What?" 

He shrugged. "I saw you go into the market so I skipped to see if you were alright. You looked a bit beat up." 

She turned to the door, emotion swelling up inside her like a balloon pumped too full of air. She glanced quickly at his face then back to the lock. "Really?" 

"Yeah."

She pushed open the door. "Well, thanks." There was something wrong, she realized, leading him into the kitchen. There was awkwardness between them, like when they had first met. Like they were meeting for the first time all over again. At least she hadn't started mumbling about cakes.

"Need some help putting these away?" 

"Sure." 

They worked silently side by side, taking things out and putting them away until they both reached into the box and their hands connected on the last box. They looked quickly at each other and Rory pulled her hand away. 

Dean drew out the box. 

A box of cornstarch. 

They looked at each other again. A slow smile spread over Dean's face then they were both laughing. 

As the laughter died away, Dean caught her eye, put the box down, took two steps and kissed her. 

She felt his arms come around her waist, pulling her into him, his soft lips familiar on her own, and wanted to cry. Jess was wrong. Being with Jess was wrong. This was right. This was so right. They pulled away for air and Rory clung to him. She wanted that safe and secure feeling again, something she'd never felt with Jess. 

He drew her to arm's length. "What's wrong?" 

The tears fell. "Jess and I broke up… He's gone… He went to California… I just… I don't know what to think anymore," she explained, hiccupping.  

He led her to the couch, that safe and familiar couch and sat down, drawing her into his arms. "God, Rory, you're killing me…"

She buried her face in his shoulder. "I know… I didn't mean to… I know now… I shouldn't have… You'll never forgive me but…" 

He smoothed the hair from her face and smiled faintly at her. "The scary thing about that is that I understood everything you just said…"

She peered up at him and smiled timidly back. "You did?" 

He nodded. "Yeah… I did." And he kissed her again. 

Note: Alright, guys, I think that's it… I'm not so good at the sequels and I'm not so good at the whole writing a zillion chapters because I end up running out of ideas… I mean, if I brought Jess back it would just be a big fight and kind of repetitive… and old… so, yeah, I think this is pretty much…

The End… 


End file.
